Japan?

[Chelle]

Does 420,000 yen a month sound like a decent salary in Japan to cover rent, utilities, transportation, some travel and at least $800.00 monthly savings? Have always heard that Japan is extremely expensive. Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

[good]

No. It would be fine if you get a housing subsidy. Rent is very expensive in Tokyo. If you are not in Tokyo, maybe you will be OK. Apart from rent, I find the cost of living much the same as in Aust and I'm not running a car so that is a saving. I ride a bike and use the subway which is fantastic. VRC

[internationalchick]

Any advice on moving to Tokyo? What do I need to know about moving there? What should I bring? I am getting a subsidy of 80,000 yen per month and was told rent could be from 140,000-180,000 yen. Thanks!

[Sara]

I lived in Japan for 2 1/2 years, and was able to live quite well off the 250,000 yen per month that I was paid by my conversation schools. While I did not live in Tokyo, 100,000 to 140,000 sounds like it could be right, especially for an apt. big enough for a family. Depends on where you live. If you live in Japanese-esque places, rather than bigger places in expat communities, you may be able to pay less. And over 400,000 yen per month sounds reasonable, depending on your years of experience and so forth.

[Ichiro]

Sorry, I don't know when you lived in Japan, but 100,000-140,000 yen per month for a "family apartment" in Tokyo is a dream--unless you're an extremely tight-knit family and don't mind pushing the coffee table out of the one room that is your entire apartment and then rolling out the futon for sleep.......

420,000 yen per month is doable, but don't forget there's JP income tax. This first post was put up a while ago--I wonder if the original author took the job in Japan and could report on her experiences ???

[guest2006]

I'm living in Japan now with my husband and daughter. We live just outside Tokyo and pay 155,000 per month in rent for a 3 bedroom apartment (the bedrooms are small though. There is only room for a bed and a dresser in each. My daughter's room especially would be considered a den in other countries). Basically we spend between 350,000-400,000 yen per month on expenses and don't really scrimp. Neither of us likes cooking so we eat out regularly and do things like go to Disneyland, rent a car to visit the countryside, etc.

420,000 in Japan is alright, but there are quite a few international schools here that pay above 500,000 per month.

[The Lory Days]

I taught at an international school in Tokyo in the mid 80s - 400 000 a month basic plus 40 000 housing plus transportation, medical etc etc. And I was a fourth year teacher; senior colleagues did better. I also took 5 000 / hour for private lessons but knew of many (usually western women) earning 10 000! Why 20 years later are pay levels if anything worse?